Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story — A Review

 

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is, unfortunately, a very good documentary about something deeply disturbing. I found it far more effective than the episodic documentaries Netflix has been making lately. 

It doesn’t rely on false suspense, ominous music, or artificial cliffhangers to create an “atmosphere.” That restraint matters. When the subject is this horrific, manufacturing tension feels almost disrespectful. The story is already twisted and sickening enough.

The documentary lays out the facts clearly and lets the reality speak for itself. What emerges is not just a scandal or a crime story, but a deeply unsettling portrait of power, control, and moral collapse.

Manipulation as a Weapon

One of the most frightening aspects of this case is the manipulation. Jodi Hildebrandt deliberately targeted vulnerable people and exploited them. When you understand someone’s context—emotional wounds, fears, beliefs—it becomes disturbingly easy to manipulate them. Jodi knew exactly how to do that.

Her background as a psychologist makes this even scarier. She understood the language of therapy, authority, and self-improvement. She knew how to operate in that territory, how to justify her actions, and how to prepare herself in case things “went down.” Watching this unfold is chilling because it shows how expertise can be weaponized.

When Manipulation Is No Longer Enough

But manipulation alone does not explain everything.

You might convince someone that separating from a spouse for a few months could be “helpful” or “necessary.” That happens, even if it’s harmful. But torturing your children? That goes far beyond manipulation.

At some point, responsibility cannot be outsourced to influence alone. Ruby Franke was not an innocent person corrupted from nothing. She already harbored cruelty. She already wanted to do horrible things—but she was restrained, at least partially, by morality. Society’s morality, not necessarily her own.

Jodi didn’t create Ruby’s darkness. She validated it. She gave it a framework, a justification, and permission. And once that happened, everything escalated terrifyingly fast. The children paid the price. There are no “lessons” there—only grief and disgust.

The Problem with “Coaching”

This documentary also raises serious concerns about the rise of coaching culture. Please, go to licensed therapists. Not “coaches” with a certificate earned in a few months, sometimes entirely online.

Even when coaches are well-intentioned, they often lack the education, ethical framework, and supervision necessary to handle complex psychological situations. And even licensed therapists—no matter how academically accomplished—are still human and fallible.

If something feels wrong, leave. Get a second opinion. Don’t follow anyone blindly. Authority should never replace critical thinking.

That may be a lesson adults can take from this story. For the children involved, there is no lesson—only injustice.

A Disturbing Familiarity

This documentary reminded me of Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. Different crimes, different contexts—but the same haunting realization: you never really know what is happening behind closed doors.

And that may be the most unsettling truth of all.